Two dead in suspected fentanyl-tainted cocaine overdoses Monday

Two people died Monday in accidental overdoses involving what police suspect was fentanyl-laced cocaine.

In all, police and other responders were called to three incidents over 14 hours involving five people who had apparently taken the tainted narcotics, acting Insp. François D’Aoust reported late Monday.

He pointed to tips from the Ottawa Public Health site stopoverdoseottawa.ca including don’t use alone, don’t mix drugs, carry naloxone and know that a drug seller may not know if their wares were cut with other drugs before sale.

When powerful fentanyl is mixed with other opioids, alcohol, benzodiazepines, or stimulants like cocaine, it increases the risk of accidental overdose, police warned, adding that illicit fentanyl is much stronger than pharmaceutical opioids.

Users can’t see, smell or taste fentanyl which can be mixed into any drug and even a small amount can cause an overdose.

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